Problems
As long as a person's physiological sex is consistent with that person's gender identity the gender role of a person is so much a matter of course in a stable society that people rarely even think of it unless for whatever reason an individual adopts a gender role that is inconsistent with his or her gender identity. When that kind of thing happens, it is most often done to deliberately provoke a sense of incongruity and a humorous reaction to the attempts of a person of one sex trying to pass himself or herself off as a member of another sex. People can find much entertainment in observing the exaggerations or the failures to get nuances of an unfamiliar gender role right.
It is not so entertaining, however, when the external genitalia of a person, that person's gender identity, and/or that person's gender role are not consistent. People naturally, but too easily, assume that if a person has a penis, scrotum, etc., then that person is chromosomally male (i.e., that person has one X chromosome and one Y chromosome), and that the person, in introspection, feels like a male. Mother nature is much more inventive than is our language and system of traditional concepts.
In one example, a person may have a penis and scrotum, but may be a female (with XX chromosomal sexual identity) with normal female sexual organs internally. When that person reaches puberty, "his" breasts may enlarge to ordinary female proportions, and "he" may begin to menstruate, passing menstrual blood through "his" penis.1 In addition, this person may have always accepted a gender identity that is consistent with "his" external genitalia or with "her" internal genitalia. Biological conditions which mean that a person's physiological sex is not easily determined are collectively known as intersex.
When we consider these more unusual products of Mother Nature's inventiveness, the simple picture that we saw in which there was a high degree of consistency among external genitalia, gender identity, and gender role then dissolves into a kind of jigsaw puzzle that is difficult to put together correctly. The extra parts of this jigsaw puzzle fall into two closely related categories, atypical gender identities and atypical gender roles.
In Western society, there is a growing acceptance of intersexed and transgendered people, however, there are some who still do not accept these people and may even react violently and persecute them: this is sometimes known as transphobia.
Nevertheless, such incidents are rare. For the vast majority of people their gender is commensurate with their genitalia.
Language
Language is a system of abstractions and frequently deals with idealized cases. The more sharply masculine gender roles are distinguished from feminine gender roles, the less likely it is that any individual human being will comply perfectly with the requirements of that gender role. And besides that fact, every individual in a society is likely to have his or her unique definition of the "proper masculine gender role" and the "proper feminine gender role". Any individual, then, might well be expected to be in compliance with the gender role ideals held by some people and to fail to be in compliance with the gender role ideals held by some other people. When, for instance, a boy cries too readily for the tastes of some people, they will call the child a "sissy" to indicate that in their view he is not a very ideal boy. There are many such pejorative role-related terms.
Examples of western gender roles
In the early 20th century, western gender roles were based around the idea of heteronormativity, and as such they were comparatively fixed. People who transgressed gender roles, such as women with high-powered jobs, frequently experienced often violent disapproval and discrimination.
Some examples of commonly seen gender role descriptions:
- A man enjoys sex, has a career, and has difficulty expressing his emotions.
- A woman wears cosmetics, and wants to get married, start a family and be a housewife.
- An effeminate man, is a man who is more or less like a stereotypical woman.
- A girl wears skirts and dresses, plays with dolls, likes the colour pink, has long hair, and wants to wear make-up.
- A tomboy is a girl who behaves like a stereotypical boy.
- A boy wears rugged clothing, likes the colour blue, plays with toy soldiers, participates in competitive team sports, enjoys fighting, doesn't cry, and has short hair.
- A sissy is a boy who behaves like a stereotypical girl.
After the sexual revolution, gay liberation, and feminism movements of the mid to late 20th century (the 1960s in particular), new roles became available in Western societies, and gender roles became rather more flexible. Narrowly defined gender roles, such as those listed here, are generally recognised as stereotypes.
Other stereotypes:
- Man
- Head and breadwinner of the family
- Responsible for contacts outward
- Strong, rational, sexually active
- Men as "hunters"
- Woman
- Dependent on and subject to a male commander (father, husband etc..)
- Responsible for the social connections within the family
- Weak, emotional and irrational, compensatorily sexually passive or uninterested
- Woman "nests"
